I fall into having some interest in the fishing methods, but not in the competitive part. Competition goes against why I FF in the first place, pure enjoyment of a day out on the stream without any competition or rules.

While I'm not against FFing competitions; for selfish reasons I hope it does not became all the rage. I sold my bass boat a while back for various reasons, but one was because it seemed I'd run into tournament every time I tried to fish my favorite lake or river and had to have a plan B & C to avoid them.

I don't believe that will ever happen with FFing, at least I hope not.

I'm interested in the techniques used by competition anglers because I'm at the stage right now where I want to catch the most fish I can each time out. That is also the goal of these anglers and anything I can learn from their experiences will help me out. However, I'm not into the competition aspect of competitive fly fishing since I go fishing to escape from the every day and have some time to myself.

Your first two options don't quite fit my answer, which is somewhere around "Don't care and I think its stupid, but as long as its not in my face I don't care." In otherwords, your #2 isn't strong enough, and #1 is too strong.

I don't understand the why of it. Its fly fishing, for christ's sake, does it need to be a competitive sport? What are we proving? Why are we competing, and just how hard up for the manufacturers to sell junk if this is where they have to take it.

For the record, I also don't understand competitive bass angling, and I think things like competitive tarpon angling or the offshore event I know they out of Cape May every August is outright offensive.

As for the techniques, they work and they obviously work quite well. I don't think they're very appealing, but then that's an entirely subjective answer. Some guys like flipping line around, some guys like pulling fish. One of the seminar presenters I saw this weekend compared it to bait or even pin fishing with the 30'+ leaders used sometimes. That's fine if you're into it, but its really clouded the line between fly fishing and just fishin' and I don't care to engage in that sort of silliness. You can, though.

Top-most choice was very tempting, but seemed to border on the ridiculous, so I just answered "no interest." To me FFing is a sport of man against nature, just like, say hunting in many instances. As soon as we introduce the element of competing with another angler to catch more or bigger or a combination of more and bigger, then we will be tempted to find methods and strategies for fishing that simply maximize the "more" or the "bigger."

I did not take up FFing for more and bigger, nor do I think the sport developed because of a more and bigger mentality. Competition FFing simply perverts the nature of the sport in my eyes. Others are free to derive all the enjoyment they wish from more and bigger.

Posted on: 2011/1/24 9:25

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afishinado wrote:While I'm not against FFing competitions; for selfish reason I hope it does not became all the rage. I sold my bass boat a while back for various reasons, but one reason was because it seemed I'd run into tournament every time I tried to fish my favorite lake or river and had to have a plan b & c to avoid them.

I feel the same way and frankly I was one of those guys a number of years ago. I won my first bass boat in a tournament (though wife would argue that since the boat was worth around $6000 and I probably put that much worth of customization into it before delivery. Really. Who wants a 9.9 hp motor?!?!?). The one cool thing about fishing in tournaments was getting to fish a lot of other lakes and rivers that I would have never forced myself to fish. Also, as an amateur, I often got to fish with some of the best fishermen in the world, learning a ton of techniques for fisheries all through the east coast. However, there are some incredibly annoying aspects of competitive fishing, particularly if you are not the one enjoying the competition but having to endure the increased pressure. Competitive bass fishing is 100% marketing driven. Is that true of competitive fly fishing?

I didn't check any of the boxes. If someone were to invite me into a tournament I would surly say yes, but I'm not out there searching to become a competitive fly fisherman and nor would I want to make a career out of it. Then it would be work, and that ruins the fun. So I'm all/none of the above.

I enjoy watching. If I got good enough or was invited by no means would I turn down the chance... but it's not something I'd pursue. At the same time, I wouldn't be thrilled if there was a competition on a stream I planned to fish that day.

We'll do little side bets every now and then... biggest fish, most fish, etc for a round of beer or a few bucks. It doesn't change the way I fish or my attitude on the stream, just adds a little something to talk about.

afishinado wrote:I fall into having some interest in the fishing methods, but not in the competitive part. Competition goes against why I FF in the first place, pure enjoyment of a day out on the stream without any competition or rules.

While I'm not against FFing competitions; for selfish reason I hope it does not became all the rage. I sold my bass boat a while back for various reasons, but one reason was because it seemed I'd run into tournament every time I tried to fish my favorite lake or river and had to have a plan b & c to avoid them.

I don't believe that will ever happen with FFing, at least I hope not.

I am interested in the methods and in what succeeds the most. It's not until there's desire for a competitive edge that you learn the most effective methods to succeed, thats true in so many things. Competition leads to being the most successful one can be. That is, if you measure success the same way. They measure it in #'s of fish and size. For us non-competitive anglers, thats certainly part of it, but not all of it.

For instance, I very often go to places where I expect to catch less or smaller fish when I could just as easily go places where I could catch more and bigger fish. Why? Because I enjoy new places, and scenery and surroundings, and lack of crowds, and the general feel of some places more than others. Further, if there's any hope of catching fish on dries, I often fish them, even when I know nymphs may be more successful. Why? Because its more fun that way.

So, as far as methods, the sport serves to prove the most effective methods of catching fish. Its up to us to define the most effective methods of having the most fun, but knowledge of the best methods to catch fish certainly help in that end.

As for the interest in becoming a "fan" as you would in other competitive sports, I have some healthy curiosity, but I wouldn't go as far as saying I have plans to follow it closely.

Picked number 1, but really should have picked 2. I do think it's stupid. Not for the stream pressure and such, just because I don't like to equate something so peaceful with a buncha dudes tryin to prove how awesome they are.

Posted on: 2011/1/24 10:31

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